


Plus One

by Patrick_Diomedes



Category: The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: F/M, This started out as PWP, and then a plot happened
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-20 11:48:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3649188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patrick_Diomedes/pseuds/Patrick_Diomedes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Karrin Murphy invites Harry to go to a wedding with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place sometime between Dead Beat and Proven Guilty.

It was way too early for whoever was knocking on my door to be doing so. I’d finished up a case yesterday that had left me aching and drained, and now someone was waking me up at still-dark-o’clock. With a sigh, I pulled on my bathrobe and went to see who it was.

“This had better be — Murph?” I stopped my grumbling when I saw Karrin standing on the other side, still dressed for work.

“Hey Harry. Can I come in?”

I nodded, and stepped aside for her, shoving the door shut once she was in. “Not that I don’t enjoy your company,” I said, “but what are you doing here? It’s, like, four in the morning.”

“Was in the neighborhood.” She walked towards my couch, moving much slower than I was used to.

 _“Flickum Bickus.”_  I murmured, gesturing at the candles around the room and sending out a small effort of will. The candles sprang to life, and I took another look at Karrin. There were bags under her eyes, and she wasn’t even wearing makeup. Hell’s bells, she was exhausted.

“Murph, why don’t you sit down?” I said, guiding her to the sofa. She half-sat, half-fell onto it with a grunt.

“Thanks, Harry.”

“When was the last time you slept?”

She mumbled something, and I asked her to repeat herself.

“Got a case today—well, yesterday. Been up since…” she glanced at her watch and let out a groan. “Oh Jesus. I have been up way too long.”

“Then why’re you here?”

She blinked, and seemed more alert for a moment. “I dunno. Wasn’t really thinking about where I was driving, and just…ended up here.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. “Alright, well, you’re not in any shape to be driving right now. Why don’t you just…get some shut-eye here?”

She nodded, and her eyelids were already drooping  as she lay down on the couch. I headed back to my bedroom, hoping to get a bit more sleep in myself. As I closed the door I saw Karrin absentmindedly scratching Mouse behind the ears with one hand.

 

* * *

 

 

It was probably the smell of coffee that woke Karrin up around seven. I’d woken up a bit earlier, and had been trying to stay quiet while I made myself some breakfast.

She sat up, yawning, and glanced over at me.

“There’d better be enough coffee there for me, Harry.” She was probably trying to sound stern, but the effect was ruined a bit by her bedhead.

“What kind of a host do you take me for?” I asked, bringing her a full mug. She sipped at the coffee slowly, gaze unfocused.

“Harry, do you have any plans this weekend? Or any monsters that need dealing with?” Karrin asked me, a note of hopefulness in her voice.

I shook my head. “Nope. No cases, no monsters, nothing. Why do you ask?”

“My sister’s wedding is this weekend,” she said.

“Just so we’re clear, you only have the one sister, right?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes,” Karrin said through clenched teeth.

Ah. Her sister. Who was getting married to Murphy’s ex husband. Who was more than twice her age, if I was remembering correctly.

“Well, I could probably go and piss of something big and nasty, if that would help?” I offered. Karrin shook her head and sighed.

“No. Dammit. I already knew I wasn’t gonna be able to get out of this. Might as well bite the bullet.”

I put my hand on her shoulder. “If there’s any way I can help,” I said, “then let me know. God knows I owe you for all the times you’ve been there for me.”

Karrin stayed quiet for a while. The only sounds in my apartment from us sipping on our coffee. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked at me.

“Could you come with me?”

Well, I hadn’t been expecting  _that_.

“Are you sure about that? I mean, me and weddings don’t exactly go together well. Or me and any sort of formal occasion, for that matter.”

“Please, Harry? I don’t wanna have to deal with all this crap alone,” Karrin said, her voice small and soft.

Hell’s bells, I hated seeing her like this. It was just…wrong. Murphy shouldn’t have to be worried or afraid of simple stuff like this. I’d seen her take down a giant plant monster with a chainsaw!

Then again, what did I know about family worries? The memories I had of my dad were fuzzy, and the whole thing with Thomas was still new. And it’s not like that was a particularly normal relationship anyway.

“Alright. Yeah,” I said, patting her on the shoulder awkwardly because I didn’t really know what else to do. “I’m assuming it’s here in Chicago?”

Karrin shook her head. “Nope. Denver. That’s where Lisa went to college, and a lot of Rick’s family lives in Arizona and New Mexico.”

“Oh…you do know that I can’t exactly take a plane there, right? Wizards and tech…”

“Harry, do you honestly think I’m ever going to forget about that, when I have to turn off my computer every time you so much as come near my office?” Karrin said, giving me a rueful little smile. “We can take a train there. It’s what I was planning on doing anyway. Easier than dealing with airport security, these days.” I nodded at her.

“Okay. Yeah, that’ll work. Trains don’t seem to mind wizards. Plenty of distance between me and the engine.”

“Great,” Murphy said, some of the tension draining away, her shoulders going loose. “I already have tickets for tomorrow morning. I’ll have the taxi stop by here on the way to the station.”

“Tickets? Did you already have someone going with you?” I asked, ignoring the weight of disappointment that had settled in my stomach. I had a sinking feeling that I knew who she’d originally planned on taking with her. After all, they’d already gone to Hawaii together back in October. It’s not like I’d thought that…

I shook my head, banishing those thoughts. Just because Thomas might’ve been right about me liking Murphy as more than a friend, didn’t mean that anything would actually happen between us.

“No. My mom gave me the tickets, assuming I’d have someone with me. Even thought I  _told_  her repeatedly that I’d be going alone.” Karrin said, letting out an annoyed sigh.

“Oh.” Despite my earlier insistences, I felt suddenly lighter, like some of the weight in my chest had dissolved.

“Yeah,” Karrin said, giving me a sidelong glance. “Harry, you do have a suit, right?”

“Um,” I said, thinking. I was  _pretty_  sure I had a suit that hadn’t been ripped to shreds, covered in slime or rendered unwearable in some other way.

“Closet. Now,” Murphy said, standing up and already striding over to my bedroom door. I followed her, and waited while she rummaged through my closet. An occasional snort of laughter escaped from her lips at some of my sillier t-shirts.

Thankfully, I did indeed have an intact suit. It was a little ragged around the edges, but other than that it was in good condition. Better than I’d expected, in fact. Just a black jacket and slacks, with a deep blue button-down shirt and—

“A Star Wars tie? Really, Dresden?” Murphy asked, holding up the offending article of clothing with a raised eyebrow. I put my hand to my chest in a mock-offended expression.

“Hey, don’t insult Star Wars! And besides, that was a gift from Michael,” I said. Karrin rolled her eyes and put the tie on the bed with the rest of the suit.

“It’ll do,” she said. “You can get packed on your own, right? I don’t have to worry about you only bringing a bunch of t-shirts and shorts, right?”

“I’ll be fine, Murph,” I said, pulling a garment bag out of the back of my closet. “I have managed to survive on my own, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Just make sure you’re ready when I come to pick you up tomorrow, ok? Now, I gotta go pick up my dress and make sure Stallings is ready to handle SI while I’m gone,” she said, heading for the door.

“Right. See you tomorrow, then?” I replied, ignoring the mental image of Karrin in a dress. I’d only seen her wear one once before, and it was just too weird. Not that she looked bad in it, of course. But it just wasn’t her.

“Yeah,” Karrin called out from the doorway. She turned back to look at me, giving me an odd look that I couldn’t quite decipher. “And Harry? Thanks.”

 

* * *

 

 

Thomas got home maybe a minute or two later. His current job had him working the night shift, though I couldn’t remember where. He’d been through so many jobs that I was starting to loose track.

“Hey, did I just see Karrin leaving? What was she doing here so early?” Thomas asked, pushing the door shut behind him. Ever since the zombie attack last halloween, the door hadn’t been aligned quite right. It tended to stick in place, and we frequently had to shove it closed with our shoulders against it. Well, I did anyway. Thomas could just push it with one hand. Which was just plain unfair. But that’s what you get when your half-brother is a super-strong sex-vampire.

“Yeah,” I said, still working on packing my clothes into a beat-up, old duffel bag.

“What was she doing here so early? Please tell me she came over last night for a booty call,” my brother said, his voice coming from the kitchen.

“No, it was not a booty call. I’ve told you before, we’re just friends,” I replied, rolling my eyes in the direction of the little kitchen nook.

“Yeah, and you’re obviously one-hundred-percent okay with that. Not like you got all jealous when she went on a tropical vacation with Kincaid or anything,” he said, now leaning against the bedroom doorway. The sarcasm in Thomas’ voice was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. “Hey, what’re you packing for? Warden business?”

“No. Karrin wants me to come with her to her sister’s wedding,” I said, zipping the duffel bag shut.

“The sister who’s getting married to her ex-husband?” Thomas asked, raising his eyebrows in interest.

“That’s the one.”

“Harry, have you ever been to a wedding?” I shook my head.

“No, but how hard can it be? All I’ll have to do is stand around, be polite, and not blow anything up or set anything on fire,” I said.

“Harry, that’s a pretty monumental task where you’re concerned. Or have you forgotten the flying monkey demons with the incendiary shit?”

“Hey, that was not my fault!” I said, glaring at him. “Anyway, it’s just a wedding.”

Thomas shook his head, chuckling. “Oh little brother, you really are dense, aren’t you?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Harry, if Karrin’s inviting you to a wedding instead of her demonic assassin boy toy, there’s a reason. Trust me, weddings make people get really focused on relationships. Or a lack thereof.” I rolled my eyes.

“I think you’re making a pretty big generalization.”

“Yeah, and from what you told me, when you and Karrin went to go attack a nest of Black Court vamps after she found out about her sister and her ex, she got kinda interested in Kincaid after he took her pants off.”

I glared at him. “Get to the point, Thomas.”

“Empty Night, Harry, I can’t believe we’re related sometimes. She’s going to make a move on you, you dolt!” Thomas said, cupping his hands around his mouth and raising his voice.

“It’s not like that!” I protested.

“Sure it’s not. Tell me little brother, who’s had more experience with women, you or me?”

“Thomas, just shut up,” I sighed, scratching my head.

“Seriously, Harry. Why not just tell her you like her?” Thomas asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.

“Because she’s my best friend, and I don’t want to mess that up by doing something like that,” I said, turning to look my brother in the eyes. “What if she doesn’t feel the same way? What if I make things weird between us, and it doesn’t go back to normal?”

“Christ, Harry,” he said. “Look, take it from someone who knows a lot about identifying attraction in people; Karrin is, at the very least,  _interested_. Maybe your feelings for each other aren’t exactly the same, but there’s definitely something there.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Seriously, little brother. I’m not gonna bother listing all the little signs I’ve noticed from both of you. Most of it isn’t even stuff that people realize they’re doing. But it’s there.”

“But…what if one of my enemies finds out that I feel that way about her, and goes after her? I mean, look at what happened with Susan?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“You think they don’t already know that she’s your friend? Harry, consider how many monsters she’s taken down, with and without your help. She’s already got enemies. And besides, I bet she’d kick your ass if she knew you were trying to protect her like that.” I nodded.

“Yeah…yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said, pulling my cufflinks out of the back of a drawer and putting them in the duffle with everything else.

“Harry, trust me on this. You have a chance for something good. Take it, before you lose it. Like I did.” Thomas said, his voice rough with emotion.

“Thomas, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. I don’t know if I love her, and I certainly don’t know if she loves me.”

“Harry, she’s gone up against some seriously nasty stuff for you. I mean, I remember what my father was doing—what he was  _going_ to do—when he had you two captured in the Deeps,” he said. I repressed a shudder. If we hadn’t managed to beat Lord Raith, I really didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened to Murphy and me. “You don’t do that for someone who’s  _just_  a friend.”

“Alright, alright,” I said, holding up my hands in a placating gesture. “You’ve made your point. I’ll…I’ll think about it, okay?”

“You, thinking? I dunno, Harry, that’s a dangerous habit to get into,” Thomas said, smirking at me. I punched him in the shoulder, lightly.

“Oh, shut up.” I said. Master of the comeback, that’s me.

“You’re all packed?”

“Yeah,” I said, checking my closet one last time for anything I might’ve missed.

“Good. I’m gonna go for a run. You wanna come?” I nodded, and grabbed my running clothes.


	2. Chapter 2

“Harry, wake up.”

I opened my eyes to find Karrin standing next to my bed, nudging me awake. It took me a second to remember why she was here. I sat up, rubbing my eyes to clear the sleep from them.

“Murph? What time is it?” I asked.

“Three-fifteen. The train leaves at four, and I don’t like being late. Come on,” she said, shining a flashlight in my face.

“Alright, alright! Why do you have that?” I said, covering my eyes. Karrin snorted.

“Because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to see in here, since you don’t have electricity?” She said.

“Right,” I said, smacking my forehead, “alright, lemme just hop in the shower real quick, and I’ll be ready to go.” Karrin nodded, and I rushed into my tiny bathroom, taking the shortest shower I could while still getting clean. And tried not to think too much about what Thomas had said yesterday. Was Karrin really inviting me because she wanted to ‘make a move’ on me? For all the talking we’d done yesterday, I still didn’t think that Thomas was right. Karrin and I were just friends, and I could live with that.

No matter how much I secretly hoped for more.

 

* * *

 

 

I entered the main room of my apartment just as Karrin was coming back in through the front door with Mouse close behind, his leash in her hands.

“Thanks for walking him,” I said, slinging the strap of my duffle bag over my shoulder. “I know you’re not exactly fond of big dogs.” I’d never asked Karrin if she’d always been uneasy around them or if it was related to the Loup Garou incident. Even if it wasn’t related, seeing her partner gutted by a werewolf the size of a tank probably hadn’t helped.

Karrin shrugged, and unclipped the leash from Mouse’s collar. “It’s alright. He’s kinda growing on me,” she said, scratching him under the chin. I snorted.

“Yeah, growing’s a good word for it. I still have trouble believing that he used to fit in my pocket,” I said. I crouched down so that I was about at Mouse’s eye level.

“I’ll be gone for a few days. Make sure Thomas doesn’t wreck the place or anything. You’re clearly the responsible one around here.”

Mouse sat down and gave a small “ruff” noise. I ruffled his hair and stood back up. Karrin’s mouth quirked up at the corner at my command for Mouse, and she let out a small laugh.

“Alright Harry, you ready to get going?”

I nodded, and we headed out the door to the waiting taxi.

 

* * *

 

 

We made it through security with time to spare. I’m always nervous about how all those scanners and metal detectors will react to me, what with my effect on technology. But for once, they didn’t let out so much as a ‘beep’. That was a first for me. I’d had to take trains a few times since becoming a Warden, in order to meet up with the other ones in the US. There weren’t many, not since the Red Court had wiped out most of the Wardens in their attack around Halloween.

Karrin and I grabbed some coffee and donuts before heading to the platform, and I showed admirable restraint by not making a single joke about cops and donuts. Okay, and the fact that I wasn’t quite awake enough to think of any. We waited at the platform, quietly sipping on our coffee.

“Harry?” Karrin said, glancing up at me.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. For coming with me, I mean. I…I’m not sure I would’ve been able to deal with this alone,” she said quietly. I could barely hear her over the wind and the rumble of the trains. I shrugged.

“Don’t mention it, Murph,” I said. “Besides, I could use a trip out of Chicago that doesn’t involve me fighting something big and nasty.”

“You know you probably just jinxed us, right?” Karrin said, mouth curving up into a wry smile. “Though I think I’d rather deal with a monster than with this wedding.”

“Maybe the wedding will have a weak spot. You know, like the Death Star,” I said. Karrin snorted, and covered her mouth to keep in the laughter that threatened to escape. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she shook her head, unable to stop the giggles. I took her coffee cup and held onto it while she got herself back under control.

“Sorry,” she said, still giggling a little, “I just…had this image of the Death Star in a wedding gown.” I blinked and handed the coffee back to Murphy.

“How much sleep did you get last night?” I asked. Karrin opened her mouth to answer, but the roar of a train approaching kept me from hearing whatever her answer was.

Our train pulled up to the platform, pulling loose bags and wrappers along in its wake. At this hour, it didn’t take long for the passengers who were getting off here to unload. Karrin and I grabbed our bags, tossed our empty coffee cups in the trash, and boarded the train with all the other passengers.

And despite the coffee, I was out like a light almost as soon as I sat down.

 

* * *

 

 

I was in what looked like a cave. I couldn’t see the roof of the cavern overhead, lost as it was in shadow. Light flickered ahead, and I walked towards it. Not like I had anything better to do. I walked for what felt like ages before I reached the source of the light. It was…well, it was my living room furniture in the middle of a cave. Secondhand couch and recliner and coffee table in front of a fireplace that was just standing there, not part of a wall or anything.

Sitting on the couch was a beautiful woman. Golden hair fell in waves past her shoulders, and she wore a dress so white it seemed to glow.

“Lasciel,” I said, glaring at the Fallen angel. She wasn’t really Lasciel. She was an imprint of the original, left in my mind from when I’d picked up the coin she was bound to. It had only been a few seconds of skin contact, but that had been all she’d needed to transfer an echo of herself to me. “What do you want.”

“What anyone wants, my host. I want to be heard. To be listened to.”

“Yeah, because I’m so interested in what you have to say,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“You made use of me before, to gain the knowledge to stop the Darkhallow,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, because my back was to the wall and I didn’t have any other options.”

“Very well,” she sighed, “that was not what I wished to talk to you about anyway.”

“Oh?”

“I believe the vampire is right about the woman,” Lasciel said. “She very likely intends to bed you, to distract from what she perceives as her own failures being thrown in her face.”

I stared at her for a long moment.

“Um, what. Also, I really do not need relationship advice from you.” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose between thumb and forefinger. Lasciel let out another sigh.

“It’s astonishing just how dense you can be, my host. She sees her marriage to this…Rich, as a failure. Catholic guilt is a powerful thing, especially when combined with familial expectations.” Lasciel said, using a slow, deliberate tone of voice that reminded me of some teachers I’d had in high school, when they’d had to explain the material to a student several times and they still weren’t getting it. I rolled my eyes at her.

“I am not going to take relationship advice from a freaking demon,” I snapped. Lasciel’s eyes narrowed and she took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

“I don’t see why not. I have millennia of experience with humans. I’m far better at understanding their motivations and feelings than you will ever be, Harry.”

“Yeah, and you’ve used that to get people to take up the coin and become monsters,” I said, glaring at her. “You know what? I’m done here. I do not have to listen to this.” I focused my thoughts. This was my mind, so I should be able to change things. Lasciel opened her mouth to speak, but a piece of duct tape appeared over her mouth, silencing her. Her eyes widened, and I could still hear muffled sounds from behind the tape. They weren’t very clear, but she didn’t sound angry. Just resigned and exasperated. I guess dealing with humans for thousands of years gives you a lot of patience when dealing with us.

 

* * *

 

 

I woke up at around noon, when the train pulled into another station on the route. The voice on the intercom announced that it was Des Moines, Iowa. A shudder went through me at that, the name of the city dredging up memories that I wished would stay buried.

Karrin, who was reading a paperback in the seat across from me, noticed the shudder. She stuck a receipt in the book to mark her place and closed it, looking across at me, eyebrows drawn together in concern.

“Harry?” she said, “you okay?”

I shook my head. “Yeah, just…Des Moines brings back some unpleasant memories,” I said. Karrin raised an eyebrow at me and I kept talking, keeping my voice low so that none of the nearby passengers would hear what I was saying. “Des Moines is where I lived with Justin and Elaine. Well, outside of Des Moines. About 20 miles. We were kinda far away from a lot of stuff. No real neighbors, you know?”

Karrin nodded. “Abusers often seek to isolate their victims,” she said. I let out a short, bitter laugh.

“Yeah. Yeah, he did that alright. Had us doing more advanced stuff than what was being taught in school. Neither Elaine or I really had any friends in middle or high school. We just felt…too different, I guess. To advanced. And Justin kinda encouraged that. Said that we didn’t need “normal friends”.”

Karrin bared her teeth, a low growl escaping her lips. I leaned back, shocked at the sudden rage that was burning behind her eyes.

“Harry?” she said, her voice deceptively calm.

“Yeah?”

“How did Justin die?” I sucked in a breath through my teeth. She’d never asked about that. I’d told Murphy about the basics several years ago, when Elaine had showed up out of nowhere working for the Summer Court, but we hadn’t really gone into the specifics. Murphy knew something about not wanting to talk about stuff, and she’d never pressed me to tell her more.

“After—after I ran the first time, and I met my Godmother and she helped me get stronger, I went back. I wanted to save Elaine. I didn’t know he’d enthralled her at the time, but I was convinced that I could help her. So I went back. Justin and I fought, with magic. I used a fire spell. It was one of the first real offensive spells I figured out. I used it, and the house caught fire. I saw Justin chasing me as I tried to get out, and then one of the beams, timbers, whatever, fell on him. That was the last I saw of him. I turned and ran. Ran until the Wardens found me.” I said, my voice shaking as I remembered that night.

“Burning to death was too good for that son of a bitch,” Karrin snarled. I felt my eyebrows go up, and I lifted my head to stare at her. I’d seen her angry before. I’d seen her angry at me more than a few times. But this was the first time I could remember ever seeing Karrin enraged on my behalf.

Honestly, I could probably count on my fingers and toes the number of times I’d seen someone get honestly pissed for my sake, and still have some digits left over.

Karrin got up from her chair and took the seat next to me. She didn’t say anything. All she did was put her hand on top of mine, where it rested on the armrest. I couldn’t feel her hand on mine, not through the leather glove covering it, but I still noticed a vague sensation of warmth where our limbs touched. My stomach felt like it was suddenly full of warmth, like I’d just drank a big mug of hot chocolate. I smiled at Murphy in thanks. She nodded, and picked up her book again. I leaned my head against the window, watching the scenery pass in a blur as we left Des Moines.


	3. Chapter 3

We took a taxi to the hotel, both of us struggling to stay awake. The hotel was nothing special, just your usual chain hotel. But when we got to the room, we noticed a slight problem.

There was only one bed.

“They must’ve made a mistake with the reservations,” Karrin said, already dialing the front desk on the room’s phone. “I’ll see if I can get us moved.” I nodded, and set my bags down. I was too tired to care at this point. I just wanted to sleep.

I actually did nod off for a few minutes, while Murphy was busy talking to the front desk. Karrin nudged me awake, and her frown told me how the conversation had gone.

“No luck?”

“Nope,” she said, shaking her head. “A lot of the rooms are having some renovations done, and the ones not being worked on are all full.” I shrugged, and went to unpack my clothes.

“Alright. I can sleep on the chair or something,” I said, pointing at the armchair I’d fallen asleep in.

“Don’t be an idiot, Harry. That’ll ruin your back. We can both sleep in the bed. We’re both adults here.” Karrin said, putting her clothes in the drawers next to mine. I watched out of the corner of my eye, curious about what she was going to wear to the wedding. But whatever it was, she must’ve already put it in the closet, because all I saw were normal blouses, slacks, and the like. I turned back to my clothes when I saw a flash of pink lace, blushing furiously. Next to me, Karrin chuckled.

“Seriously, Harry? You’re blushing because you saw my underwear? You do remember that you’ve seen me without pants, right?” She said, an amused lilt to her voice.

“Yes, I remember. But that was different,” I replied. “That was…that was just a necessity.”

“Whatever,” she said, closing the drawer and heading into the bathroom. “Let’s just get some sleep. I’ll need it to deal with everyone tomorrow.” I heard the mix of anger, annoyance, and hurt in her voice, and was overtaken by the desire to punch Murphy’s ex in the face.

 

* * *

 

 

Karrin came out of the bathroom wearing a large t-shirt. It hung down to her upper thighs, and I couldn’t help glancing at her now-bare legs. It was only a brief glance, but I could see the muscles there, lean and strong. Karrin cleared her throat, and my eyes whipped back up to her face. Karrin raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t appear to be angry. If she was, I’d know.

“Harry, you really need to get laid,” she said, smirking at me. I shook my head and let out a sigh.

“You’re starting to sound like Thomas,” I replied, walking past her into the bathroom. I did my usual before-bed routine, brushing and flossing my teeth. Then I started to pull off the leather glove on my left hand. It stuck to the skin, making me wince as I removed it. It wasn’t that painful, all things considered, but that was only because I didn’t really have a whole lot of feeling left in it. It still looked more or less the same as it had when I’d first gotten burned. The fingers were thinner than they should’ve been, most of them having been melted away. The tendons stood out on the back of my hand, and the whole thing looked like melted wax. I turned my hand over and stared at my palm. There was a patch of pink, healthy skin there, in the shape of a sigil. Three curved lines, creating a shape that reminded me of an hourglass.

Lasciel’s sigil.

I finished checking over my hand, looking for any changes. Not that I expected to find any. Butters had said that there probably wasn’t any risk of infection at this point, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

With that finished, I switched my jeans out for a pair of sweatpants and headed to bed.

Karrin was laying there, reading a paperback. I stood at the side of the bed for a moment, unsure of what to do. Karrin looked over at me, one eyebrow raised.

“Oh for god’s sake, Harry. Just get in bed. We’re both tired and we both need sleep,” she said, pulling the covers back and patting the space next to her. I nodded and climbed into bed next to her, keeping a bit of space between us. Karrin turned the lights off and pulled the covers up to her shoulders.

“‘Night Harry,” She said, covering a yawn with her hand.

“Goodnight, Murph.”

 

* * *

 

 

I woke up before Karrin the next morning, the sunlight shining through the window directly onto my face. According to the clock on the nightstand, it was only six-thirty in the morning. Hell’s bells.

Karrin grunted in her sleep, and turned away from the light. I pulled the shades closed a little more, and headed into the bathroom to clean up.

Being a wizard, I had…problems with technology. That included water heaters. It only took one incident with an exploding water heater in my first apartment to make me decide that it probably wasn’t worth the risk of having one. So my showers in Chicago were perpetually cold. Which wasn’t always a bad thing, considering how many supernatural entities used seduction and sex appeal as a tactic.

But that didn’t make it any easier. So I took the chance to actually have a warm shower whenever I got it, which wasn’t often. I turned the knob on the bathtub until the water coming out of the faucet was almost uncomfortably hot. I stepped in, switched the water flow to the shower head, and sighed in relief as the warm water cascaded over me. I hadn’t realized just how tense I’d been the last few days. I’d had a case that had kept me working late, and it’d gotten me a lot more worked up than I’d thought.

I took my time in the shower, filling the bathroom with steam and fogging up the mirror. By the time I turned the water off and got out, my fingertips had started to go a little prune-y. I dried myself off, combed my hair as best I could, and swore when I realized that I hadn’t remembered a razor or shaving cream. With a sigh, I leaned closer to the mirror to examine my reflection, focusing on the neck, jaw, and all the other places that hair grew. I’d shaved yesterday before leaving, and my facial hair didn’t grow particularly fast. I ought to be ok, at least for today. I’d just have to pick up some disposable razors and shaving cream at a convenience store or something.

“Harry, hurry up in there!” Karrin said, knocking on the door firmly. I stood up, wrapped the towel around my waist, and opened the door. Karrin’s hand had been raised, about to knock again, but instead of hitting the door, her hand ended up on my chest. We both stood there, frozen. I could feel my cheeks heating up, and caught the slight pink flush on Murphy’s face as well. She scanned my naked chest, taking it all in as her lips curled up at the sides into a slight smirk.

Karrin snatched her hand away from me and looked up, arching an eyebrow in annoyance. Her bedhead didn’t do anything to lessen the effectiveness of that Look.

“About time,” she said. “Christ, Harry, you must’ve been in there for almost thirty minutes.” I blinked. Had it really been that long? I glanced over at the clock on the nightstand, confirming that yes, I had been in the shower that long. I raised my hand to the back of my head, scratching and giving Murphy a sheepish grin.

“Sorry, Murph. Not used to the hot water, you know?” Karrin smiled and shrugged.

“Yeah, yeah. Now get out of the way. I need to freshen up,” she said, nudging me out of the way and slipping into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

While Karrin took her turn in the shower I got dressed, pulling clothes out of the drawers that I’d put them in the night before. Karrin had said that we wouldn’t have to do anything with her family tonight, so I left my nicer clothes in the closet for now, grabbing some shorts and a t shirt. The sun was already pretty high in the sky, and the weather forecast in the newspaper said it was going to be hot.

 

* * *

 

 

Karrin came out of the bathroom maybe twenty minutes after she’d gone in, her hair tied back in a ponytail. Like me, she’d gone with simple, comfortable clothes; A simple white tank-top and a pair of denim shorts. She picked up her Cubs jacket, looked out the window, and put it back down.

“So, what now?” I asked. “You said that we don’t have to do anything until the dinner with your family tonight, right?”

Karrin nodded. “Yeah. Honestly, I have no clue what we should do. I’ve only been here once, and I didn’t get the chance to check out the city.” She picked up her little notebook and flipped through it, looking for something. “I’ve heard of a place that does good breakfasts, and I don’t know about you but I’m starving.” Murphy said, slipping the notebook back into her jacket. I nodded and finished tying my shoes.

“Same here. How far is it?”

“Only a couple miles. We can walk there,” she said, and held out one of the room keys for me. “Here, in case we end up doing separate things.” I shook my head.

“That’s not gonna work. The tech problems mean that tapes and credit cards get demagnetized after, like, a day,” I said. “Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

“Oh, darn,” Karrin said in a monotone, snapping her fingers in mock disappointment as we headed out the door.

 

* * *

 

 

It took Karrin and I around 45 minutes to walk to the restaurant. We could’ve made it in less time if we’d bothered to run, but it’s not like we were in any sort of hurry. I actually had to slow myself down a bit for Murphy to keep up with me, which made her grumble about “stupid wizards and their stupid long legs.”

The restaurant was on Colfax Street, which seemed to be populated mainly by restaurants of all sorts. There was also a large bookstore that I made a mental note of. The restaurant itself was a simple place, no fancy decor or anything like that. Whoever owned the place must’ve liked old movies, judging by the posters and the TVs on the walls here and there. It only took us a quick look at the menu after being seated to decided that we both wanted pancakes.

“Great minds think alike, eh Murph?” I said as the waiter took our orders. Karrin rolled her eyes at me.

“Since when has your mind been great?” She replied, arching an eyebrow. “Because I seem to remember a plan of yours that involved jumping out of a moving car.”

I waved my hand dismissively. “It made sense at the time.”

 

* * *

 

 

Karrin and I returned to the hotel after breakfast, our bellies full and our appetites satisfied. The walk back took a bit longer than the walk to the restaurant had, since we stopped and checked out some of the sights along the way.

“So, what do you want to do now?” Karrin asked me as we entered the hotel room. I shrugged.

“No idea,” I said, laying down on the bed. “Might need some time to digest all those pancakes, though.” Karrin nodded in agreement.

“No kidding. Those things were huge,” She said, sitting down in the armchair. “How the hell do restaurants make their pancakes so thick and heavy, anyway? I mean, I’ve used buttermilk pancake mix at home before, and I’ve never been able to figure it out.”

I gave her a shrug. “No idea. But if you figure it out, let—aaaaah—let me know.” I said, failing to stifle my yawn. “Hell’s bells, I think I need a nap.”

Karrin nodded. “I’m gonna make some phone calls. You take your nap.”

 

* * *

 

 

The sound of Karrin’s raised voice roused me from my nap a couple hours later. I sat up in the bed, blinking the sleep away from my eyes. Karrin was sitting in the recliner again, her cell phone pressed to her ear.

“Yes, mother, I know I promised to give a toast, but I haven’t had time! I’m sorry, you’ll just have to..of  _course_  I know she’s my sister! Look, what do you want me to say?…Yes…yes, alright. I’ll come up with something…Love you too, mom.” Karrin said, flipping the phone shut with a sigh. She glanced over to me, finally realizing that I was awake. “Sorry, Harry. Did I wake you?”

I waved my hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. Sounds like you’ve got enough on your plate already.”

Karrin snorted and rolled her eyes. “No kidding. How the hell am I supposed to write a toast for a wedding where my little sister is marrying my ex-husband?” She said, running her fingers through her hair in exasperation.

“Maybe if you just talk about your sister?” I suggested, giving her a slight shrug. “Just, you know, try and focus on the positives?”

Karrin shook her head and sighed again. “No offense, Harry, but you’re probably not the best person to give advice on this,” she said. Karrin’s eyes went wide, and she slapped her forehead. “God, Harry, I’m sorry, that’s not what I—,”

I cut her off with a wave of my hand. “Nah, you’re right. I mean, I’ve got Thomas now but that’s not exactly a normal sibling relationship,” I said. “Though maybe I could try helping anyway. I mean, Billy did ask me to give a toast at his wedding in a couple months. I could use the practice.”

Karrin nodded. “Yeah, alright. Not like I’m making any progress on this stupid thing on my own anyway. C’mere and take a look at what I’ve got so far,” she said, motioning for me to take a seat next to her at the small table in front of the window. I nodded, and pulled up a chair.

 

* * *

 

 

After an hour of going over Karrin’s toast, we were both stumped. Karrin slumped back in her chair, hands over her face.

“That’s it. If I have to look at this any more, my head’s gonna explode,” she groaned. “I need a break.”

“Alright,” I said. “What do you wanna do?”

Karrin pushed herself out of her chair with a grunt, and began searching through the dresser drawers she’d put her clothes in. With a triumphant noise, Karrin stood up straight, pulling something out of the drawer and holding it up over her head. It was a bikini.

“I’m gonna head down to the pool and go for a swim. You coming?” she asked, resting a hand on her hip. I swallowed.

“I don’t have a swimsuit, Murph,” I said, slightly distracted by the mental image of Karrin in a bikini. Karrin frowned and lifted something out of my drawer.

“You sure? Because this looks a lot like a bathing suit,” She said, holding up the garment in question. I stared at it, trying to figure out where the hell it had come from. And then I remembered Thomas hurriedly zipping up my duffle bag as I got out of the shower after our run the other day. He must’ve put it in there for some reason. I sighed, and took the swimsuit from Karrin’s outstretched hand.

 

* * *

 

 

It was early enough that there weren’t many people at the pool when Karrin and I got down there. Something that I definitely appreciated. I’d rather not have a bunch of people staring at my collection of scars if I can help it. And it’s a fairly extensive collection.

I followed Karrin into the water, wading to the edge of the pool’s deep end. Of course, that meant that Karrin had to tread water, while I could stand up just fine.

“Sure you don’t wanna go back to the shallow end, Murph?” I asked, flashing her a grin. Karrin didn’t bother to dignify that with a response. She just slapped the water with both hands, sending a spray of water at my upper body. I sputtered indignantly, wiping the water away from my eyes.

“Oh, real mature, Karrin,” I said, rolling my eyes at her. Karrin responded with another splash, and it sort of degenerated from there into a full-blown splash fight.

 

* * *

 

 

“Harry can you help me out with this?” Karrin said, facing away from me and holding out the bottle of sunscreen. We’d decided to take a break from the pool once our fingers had gotten all wrinkled, but the day was just too nice to go back and sit in the hotel room.

I swallowed, looking at Karrin’s back, looking at the lines of her shoulder blades and muscles. At the back of her neck and her bare shoulders, and I was suddenly hit by the desire to trail kisses along them.

“Harry?” Karrin repeated. I shook my head, bringing myself back to the present.

“Yeah, ok. Just sit down on the edge of your chair,” I said, squeezing out a dollop of sunscreen onto my undamaged hand. Karrin did as I asked, leaning her head forward and brushing her hair out of the way. Karrin let out a small ‘eep!’ of surprise as the cold sunscreen touched her skin, pulling away instinctively.

“Come on Murph. I can’t do this if you don’t stay still,” I said, spreading the stuff around. I couldn’t help but notice the lines of her muscles as my hands moved over them. I’d never seen her with her shoulders and back uncovered before, and I was shocked by how incredible she looked.

Hell’s bells, Thomas was right. I had it  _bad_  for Karrin.

I kept rubbing the sunscreen into her skin, getting every exposed area of her back that I could. And when I’d finished, Karrin grabbed the bottle of sunscreen and told me to lay down on my deck chair.

“Come on, Harry. You’re paler than I am, you probably need this more than I do,” she said. I gave her a nod and rolled onto my stomach, putting my head on my arms.

When Karrin started on my back, I yelped at the sudden coldness on the back of my neck. Karrin laughed at me.

“Weren’t you just telling me not to freak out about the sunscreen?” she said. And even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew Karrin was smirking in amusement.

“It’s a reflex!”

“Sure it is,” she chuckled, her hands moving in circles over my back as she slathered the sunscreen on. “Now hold still.”

I sighed and tried not to flinch from the sunscreen, but it was really freaking cold. Karrin took her time, rubbing the sunscreen all over my back, and reapplying it to several areas that I’d already covered. I shivered at the touch of her hands on my sides, and Karrin told me to stop being such a wimp already.

Sunscreen taken care of, we both lay down on the deck chairs and just relaxed. Ever since becoming a Warden, I hadn’t had anywhere near as much time to relax as I’d have liked, so I took the chance whenever I  could.

 

* * *

 

 

“Harry, where’d that come from?” Karrin asked, sitting back down with a smoothie from the stand over by the other end of the pool. I followed her gaze to the long, thin scar on my torso. It started at the hollow of my throat, ran down the center of my torso in a straight line, and ended just below my belly button.

I sighed. “Last halloween. A crazy sorcerer tried to gut me.”

Karrin sucked in a breath. “Jesus, Harry, why didn’t you say anything?”

“It wasn’t very deep. And Butters took care of it alright.”

“That’s not the point, Harry,” she said. “Christ, would it kill you to tell people when you’re hurt?”

“I didn’t want to bother you!” I protested. “You seemed to have a good time in—on your vacation, and I didn’t want you feeling guilty or anything.” I looked away. “Besides, you never told me everything that happened in Hawaii.”

“Harry, I’m just worried. You’re my friend, and I want to be sure you’re ok.” she said gently.

“I know.”

I sought around for something else to talk about, before I accidentally said something to embarrass myself. I found something when I took another look at Karrin’s legs and noticed that she had a few scars of her own. I wasn’t surprised. Murphy’s a cop, she was bound to have some scars here and there. But I didn’t think I’d been present for any of them, and that made me curious.

“So, how’d you get that one?” I asked, pointing at a purple spot on one foot that was slightly sunken in compared to the rest of the skin there. Karrin sighed, slapping her forehead.

“You just had to pick that one, didn’t you?” she said.

“What, is it embarrassing?” I leaned closer, grinning at her. “Tell me more.”

“Fine. I got it when I was, like, ten. I was doing something with my bike, and it fell over because I didn’t have a kickstand. And because I was stupid enough to be wearing sandals, one of the gear teeth went right into my foot.” Karrin explained, folding her arms and looking at me as though daring me to laugh about it.

I chuckled. “That’s not too bad,” I said, and held out my right arm, twisting it to show her a faded scar near the crook of my elbow. “Got this one when I was around eighteen, cleaning fish I’d caught with Ebenezar.”

“You, fishing?” Karrin said, raising a golden eyebrow. “I can’t picture that.”

“Ebenezar lived on a farm, and he wanted to make sure that—,” I said, but Karrin held up a hand.

“Wait, you lived on a  _farm_?” She asked, eyes sparkling with repressed mirth. “Did you have a cowboy hat or something? God, no wonder you love Star Wars so much. You and Luke Skywalker, a couple of farm boys.”

“As I was saying, before being so  _rudely_  interrupted, Ebenezar wanted to make sure that I could get food for myself even if I was out in the wilderness or something,” I said, remembering those years on Eb’s farm fondly.

Of course, they’d been a lie. He hadn’t told me that he was the Council’s wetworks man, with orders to kill me if I stepped out of line. Hadn’t told me that he’d been the one to train my mother.

“Huh. Guess the old guy’s smarter than I gave him credit for,” Karrin said. “How old is he, anyway?”

I shrugged. “Dunno his exact age, but I heard him mention something about the French and Indian War once, so he’s at least two-hundred.”

“Seriously?” Karrin asked, her eyes wide.

“Yeah. He’s not even the oldest person on the Council.”

Karrin shook her head. “Every time I think I’m getting a handle on all this stuff, you drop another bomb on me.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Harry, hurry up. We need to get going or we’re going to be late,” Karrin called from outside the bathroom. I sighed, and finished tying my tie.

“Almost done,” I said, slipping my pentacle necklace on and tucking it inside my shirt. I was gonna get enough weird looks without wearing what most people assumed was a satanist symbol around a bunch of Irish Catholics. That done, I pulled the leather glove back onto my left hand and exited the bathroom. Karrin had gotten dressed while I was in there, and I raised an eyebrow at what she was wearing.

“What, no dress?” I asked. Karrin snorted, finished pulling her shoes on, and stood up, brushing some invisible dust off of her slacks and blouse.

“I told my mom I’d wear a dress for the ceremony and the reception. That’s it. She knows better than to push me on that,” she said. I shrugged. I couldn’t argue with that. Karrin was more stubborn than just about anyone I knew, except maybe myself.

“Anyway, I thought you’d want to be late, so you didn’t have to spend as much time dealing with everything,” I said.

“I would if I thought I could get away with it. But everyone already knows I’m here. And I am not going to run away from this. I can handle it,” Karrin said, gritting her teeth. I nodded and pushed the door open, holding it for her and bowing gallantly.

“The only reason I’m not kicking you right now is because these shoes really aren’t made for that,” she said, gesturing at the heels she was wearing.

“Noted.”

 

We’d taken a cab to the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner was being held, but when we arrived Karrin made no move to go in. We stood on the sidewalk outside for a few minutes, an island in the flow of pedestrians. Karrin’s entire body was tense, and despite being about as psychically sensitive as a rock, I could feel the worry and irritation radiating off her in waves. I put a hand on her shoulder.

“Karrin?”

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Yeah, I’m ready,” she said.


End file.
